James Gretton, Southampton Socialist Students

Student life leaves a lot to be desired right now. Before we even make it to university, tuition fees get hiked year by year. When we’re on campus studying, it’s under precarious conditions with cuts to resources and staff. When we get home from campus, our housing is untenable, leaving us vulnerable to exploitative landlords. When we graduate, obscene student debt burdens us, and youth unemployment is rising.

And every step of the way, we are onlookers to a world in crisis. Trump’s imperialist agenda threatens further conflict and war; it fuels further economic instability which the bosses will try to make the working class and young people pay the price for; the ravaging consequences of climate change continue to worsen. And here, Keir Starmer’s government continues to attack workers and young people. Starmer dined with the King and Trump at Windsor Castle in September, while thousands in Gaza starved.

That is why, across uni campuses, colleges and schools, Socialist Students is fighting back. We are campaigning to defend our education from government and bosses’ attacks, and fighting for decent housing, free education and socialist change.

It’s clear to see why capitalism is losing favour among younger generations. It is a system which values profit over people, and that concentrates wealth into the few, depriving the many. It offers no promising future for young people.

That’s what was behind the initial enthusiasm for Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party, as well as for new Green Party leader Zack Polanski’s ‘eco-populist’ platform against inequality and injustice.

Socialist Students is an organisation in which students can come together to explore socialist ideas and get involved fighting for them. We organised walkouts of school, college and uni students to protest against Trump’s state visit to the UK last year. We have led the fightback for fully funded free education under the Funding Not Fees campaign. We have fought alongside our teachers and other education staff defending jobs and our education. We have taken part in the mass protests against the slaughter or Palestinians in Gaza. And we are part of the fight for a new mass party that fights for young people and workers, and for socialist change.

On 14 February, the Socialist Students National Conference will take place in Manchester. It will discuss a new constitution to prepare for the road ahead of widespread youth and student struggles and protests.

If you want to fight for your future, for an alternative, this is the opportunity to express yourself and be heard.

Join us at Socialist Students conference!

Socialist Students conference 2026

Saturday 14 February 2026
University of Manchester